President-elect Trump appoints Susie Wiles as chief of staff

WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman ever to hold that influential role.

Wiles is widely recognized inside and outside Trump's inner circle for having run by far his most disciplined and well-executed campaign and was considered the best contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight and even refused to take the microphone to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.

She was able to do what few others have managed: help control Trump's worst impulses – not by reprimanding him or lecturing him, but by earning his respect and showing him that it he would be better off following her advice than ignoring it.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative and widely admired and respected. “Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement. “It is a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

During his first term, Trump had four chiefs of staff – including one who served as an actor for a year – and was part of a record-breaking staff turnover in his administration.

Successful chiefs of staff serve as presidential confidants, helping implement a president's agenda and balancing competing policy and policy priorities. They also tend to act as gatekeepers, dictating who the president spends his time with and who he speaks to – an exercise that has chafed Trump in the White House.

The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” details how the role of the White House chief of staff shaped and defined a presidency. “Ultimately, the most important thing is to tell the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”

Wiles is a longtime Republican strategist from Florida who ran Trump's campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020. Previously, she managed Rick Scott's 2010 campaign for governor of Florida and briefly served as manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's 2012 presidential campaign.

Chris LaCivita, who served as campaign co-manager with Wiles, wrote on X: “So happy and proud of one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors I've ever had the pleasure of working with!!!”